


If I Fall Short, If I Break Rank (It's a Bloodsport)

by SeventhMoonlitNight



Series: Loving You's A Bloodsport [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, But also not yet, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption-ish, Different take on how Catra has nine lives, F/F, Kind of Soulmate AU, Post-Canon, They go save Angella, This isn't the end I promise, but not yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25743001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeventhMoonlitNight/pseuds/SeventhMoonlitNight
Summary: Oh, no. Nuh-uh. Not happening.“Wait just a damn minute! You mean to tell me that you still plan on traipsing through a portal, where you could end up anywhere, who knows how many times, probably without knowing where or who you are, and possibly going back and forth in time?”"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."Honestly, what did she expect? "I'll do it. You have a kingdom to run. You won’t have time for this, which means Bow and Adora will find out about it eventually. They’ll want to be idiots and do this without thinking it through, all just to rescue her."
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: Loving You's A Bloodsport [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867381
Comments: 17
Kudos: 160





	If I Fall Short, If I Break Rank (It's a Bloodsport)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I'm so excited to make my first She-Ra content! It's gonna be a long one so buckle up!
> 
> So listen, this is gonna be a series but this chapter is the prologue. Trust me, it'll make sense when I upload the rest. I also cried a little at the end, I did not expect it to get angsty this early. I'm also sorry for the lack of Adora for now, there'll be more, I promise!
> 
> So, without further ado, enjoy the first installment of the Bloodsport series!

With her hands behind her head and one knee crossing over the other, Catra sighs in contentment. She’s sprawling up in the rafters of the war council room in Bright Moon’s castle, where the afternoon sun hits perfectly, and she’s surrounded by warmth.  
  
She’s had three years to look for the best napping spots all around Bright Moon now, and this is by far her favorite.  
  
Except for when Adora joins her in the gardens during sunset. That’s the best spot for cuddles and relaxing.  
  
Not that she’d admit that to anyone.  
  
But also Adora isn’t in Bright Moon right now, busy doing something or the other in the Crimson Waste with Bow, Rogelio and Huntara.  
  
So, she’ll settle for a peaceful nap in the rafters for now.  
  
Or it would have been peaceful if the room’s double doors didn’t slam open just as she’s slipping into slumber.  
  
With a quiet hiss, Catra turns onto her side to glare at whoever dares interrupt her. Not that they’d be able to see her as she’s currently way up in the ceiling but it’s the thought that counts.  
  
She manages to relax and roll her eyes goodheartedly as Glimmer and Entrapta fully enter the room to walk over to the table. She shifts onto her stomach and props up her chin in her hand to watch the two women below her.  
  
Glimmer’s not exactly the quietest person on Etheria and Entrapta could talk your ear off for hours if you let her, so Catra rescinds herself to not being able to take her afternoon nap. Instead she watches her two friends as they flutter about the table, deciding to tune into their conversation.  
  
“-and you’re sure it’ll be stable? I don’t wanna risk anything during this.” Glimmer wrings her hands nervously as she stares at Entrapta. The genius princess is now tapping away at a pad on the table.  
  
Catra frowns in confusion. She hasn’t heard Glimmer this distraught since some of the former Force Captains from the Horde had decided to take up residence in the now abandoned Fright Zone again and try to start another war about a year and a half ago.  
  
Entrapta waves her hand over the table and some schematics show up as 3D holograms over a small part of the table.  
  
Catra tilts her head slightly as she looks over them. Something about them looks familiar, as if she’s seen the blueprints of this particular experiment before.  
  
“Really, one never really knows everything about opening a portal. The possibilities of many microscopic changes could follow activating it. As far as I know, the many variables of time and space integrating in a way they’re not relatively meant to could mean the restructuring or collapse of reality as we know. Take my last experiments with a portal back in the Fright Zone almost five years ago. That was disastrous!”  
  
Catra sits up in alarm, eyes wide. They were trying to open a portal?! Did they not learn from her mistakes?!  
  
Glimmer takes a deep breath and runs her hand through her hair. “If I just understood you correctly, that means it won’t work?”  
  
Entrapta stands straighter, her pigtails holding her just a little higher. “Oh, no, it’ll definitely work! Hordak and I have been going over every possible scenario you could encounter, and your odds are very attractive!”  
  
“So, it’ll be stable? Even without someone being there to hold the portal?”  
  
Entrapta taps her chin with a piece of her hair in thought then grins. “Yup! Etheria is balanced now, unlike last time where we were missing Scorpia’s connection with her runestone, and magic has been restored to the universe! This means opening a portal will not have any real affect in our reality, or on us extracting Queen Angella from within the time and space gap!”  
  
Oh, no. Nuh-uh. Not happening.  
  
Catra leaps down from her place in the beams, landing right between the two women. Glimmer takes a step back in surprise while Entrapta’s grins gets bigger.  
  
“Catra, hi!”  
  
Temporarily ignoring her friend’s enthusiastic greeting – she will never say this aloud to anyone but the maniac herself, but she really misses having Entrapta around – Catra grabs Glimmer’s shoulders and squeezes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Opening a portal? Are you out of your mind?!”  
  
“Catra, what’re you doing here? I thought you were with Adora in the Crimson Waste!” Glimmer shakes herself from the feline’s grip, but she just advances on her more.  
  
Catra growls and frustration. “Stop ignoring the question. You want to open a portal? Do you not remember what happened last time?”  
  
Glimmer flinches slightly in response but rears back up with a glare. “Clearly. I’m trying to _rescue_ my mother.” Catra grimaces and takes a step back, her hand coming up to rub at the back of her neck. The Queen narrows her eyes then sighs. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”  
  
The taller woman shakes her head, “Never mind that. When were you planning on telling us?” At Glimmer’s guilty glance and her silence, she feels anger bloom in her chest once more. “Really, Sparkles? When would we have found out about you not being in Etheria? After a day, a week? After you never come back?!”  
  
“Everything would have been fine – “  
  
“And you!” Catra whirls around to face Entrapta, ignoring Glimmer’s indignant huff behind her. “When were you gonna tell us about your brilliant new experiment where our friend plans to disappear into?!”  
  
Entrapta opens her mouth to say something but quickly glances at Glimmer then closes her lips, turning to tap at her pad again instead of replying.  
  
“Don’t blame her, I swore Entrapta to secrecy – “  
  
“Since when has she been able to keep secrets – “  
  
“Catra!” Glimmer grabs the feline’s shoulders and turns her around to face her. She sees her tail bristle and lets go of her, taking a step back to give her some space. Catra glares at her and wraps her arms around her waist. “This is precisely why I didn’t want to tell you guys. If _you’re_ reacting like this, can you imagine how Bow and Adora would react?”  
  
“With good reason.”  
  
Glimmer sighs in exasperation and reaches up to rub her temples. “Entrapta says it’s safe, nothing’s going to happen. The portal will be stable. It will only take a few minutes to get my mom then I’ll be right out. I will be alright.” At Catra’s dubious look, she smiles smugly. “Besides, I’ve progressed far more with magic thanks to my dad, so it’ll be a piece of cake.”  
  
“Uh, actually,” Entrapta interrupts suddenly, her voice hesitant. “The magic will be too busy stabilizing the portal, and you’ll be in a time and space pocket, which means you won’t be able to use magic. Like at all.”  
  
Catra looks sharply at Glimmer, “Absolutely not!”  
  
A scoff. “Excuse me! I can fight without magic!”  
  
“I had no problem defeating you during the Battle of Bright Moon!”  
  
“You had tanks! _And_ I was cursed!”  
  
“I saved you on Prime’s ship!”  
  
“So did I!”  
  
“Barely!”  
  
“Because Adora got to you first!” Glimmer throws her hands up in exasperation. She crosses her arms on her chest and peers up at the feline. “Please, Catra, I have to save my mom.” She watches the woman’s ears go flat against her head and goes in for the kill.  
  
“What if it was Shadow Weaver instead?”  
  
Catra’s eyes go wide and her muscles tense. She growls at her friend, “That bitch got what she deserves.”  
  
Glimmer raises an eyebrow, staring right through her.  
  
Catra looks away angrily, teeth bared. “…and I’d probably go get her if she was stuck in a pocket of time and space for all eternity ‘cause no one deserves that. Not even a horrible monster like her.” She mutters the last part bitterly.  
  
Stupid therapy trying to make her a fair and just person.  
  
But she still thinks the best thing that woman did was die.  
  
Glimmer rolls her eyes half-heartedly and hesitantly cups a hand around her friend’s elbow. “Catra, I’m doing this. So, please, don’t tell Adora or Bow. Adora’s still working on her self-sacrificial bullshit and Bow will want to do it because he’s, well, Bow.”  
  
Catra, while she agrees wholeheartedly about Adora – that woman will jump at the chance to do this, no thought, no worries as to what she might face – decides she’s not happy with any of this so she grumbles as she takes a seat at the table.  
  
“Bow’s probably the best bet since magic is non-existent.”  
  
Entrapta decides to pipe up again. “Actually, when it comes to efficiency and strength, the most ideal person out of all of our friends is definitely you, Catra. Your former leadership role, strategic plans and battle tactics along with your strength, speed and agility will be almost invincible against all the odds you will encounter.”  
  
Catra and Glimmer exchange a glance before Catra asks, hesitantly, “And what are those odds, Entrapta?”  
  
Entrapta holds up a pigtail, counting down as if they were fingers. “Well, there’s the chance that you’ll be entering a different pocket than the one Angella will be in. You could also end up in a different alternate reality. There’s the possibility of you not remembering anything from this reality, like what happened during the first portal. We also considered time travelling being a likelihood…”  
  
She trails off, looking away from the ceiling in thought to see Catra’s fearful wide eyes and Glimmer’s hopeless expression. She quickly retraces the conversation and realizes her friends are worried about the uncertainties. So, it’s up to her to reassure them!  
  
“But don’t worry! If you ever end up in the wrong reality, portal or timeline, you just need to use this!” She produces a small device with two buttons, a red one twice the size of a yellow one. “This yellow button will activate the original portal which you stepped through the first time and you’ll come back home. But if you get stuck on another reality, you’ll be able to go into a different dimension using the red button!”  
  
Catra looks pained, almost pale with trepidation but Glimmer seems as if she has her spirits back. “Great! How many times will I need to use it?”  
  
“Well, that’s uncertain as there are millions of dimensions in this galaxy – “  
  
“I think I’m gonna be sick – “  
  
“But fear not! Hordak and I have narrowed it down using Angella’s DNA strands you gave me, Glimmer, and this will only open portals to dimensions where there are traces of Angella!”  
  
Catra could feel Glimmer practically vibrating besides her with excitement.  
  
“This is amazing! Let’s do it now!”  
  
Glimmer goes to grab the device from Entrapta but Catra snatches her wrist before she could make contact. “Wait just a damn minute! You mean to tell me that you still plan on traipsing through a portal, where you could end up anywhere, who knows how many times, probably without knowing where or who you are, and possibly going back and forth in time?”  
  
Glimmer pauses for a second then smiles gently. “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”  
  
Honestly, what did she expect?  
  
Tail flicking angrily behind her, Catra bares her teeth. “I’m sorry, let me rephrase that. You mean to tell me that you still plan on traipsing through a portal, where you could end up anywhere, who knows how many times, probably without knowing where or who you are, and possibly going back and forth in time _while pregnant_?”  
  
Glimmer’s eyes go wide in shock, and they flicker between two angry mismatched orbs and bewildered pink ones. “How’d you know?” she whispers softly, shaking her wrist loose. “Not even Bow knows yet.”  
  
Catra’s gaze softens, “You smell different. Like two entities instead of one. At first, I thought Bow changed his cologne, but he still smells the same.” She reaches up to run a hand through her longer hair and grumbles. “Why do you think I’m so adamant about you not doing this?”  
  
Glimmer presses a hand to her chest, eyes tearing up as she chokes back her emotions. “Is this why you’ve been hanging back from missions more often lately? To protect us?” She gasps softly when a blush colors the feline’s cheeks.  
  
Catra crosses her arms, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “Get over yourself. I’m your advisor, I’m here to make sure you don’t pull stupid stunts like this one.”  
  
Entrapta gasps loudly from behind them and shakes her head, pigtails holding her up as she wiggles in excitement. “A _baby_?! Glimmer, you cannot go through this portal! We didn’t take a baby into account!”  
  
A resigned sigh. “But what about my mom?”  
  
“I’ll do it.”  
  
Both women turn to Catra in shock. Catra takes a step back from them. “I’ll do it. As soon as Little Arrow is born, you’ll be stumped with taking care of them and the kingdom. You won’t have time for this, which means Bow and Adora will find out eventually. They’ll want to be idiots and do this without thinking it through.”  
  
“Catra, this is why I didn’t tell anyone. She’s my mom – “  
  
“And it’s my fault she’s in there.”  
  
Glimmer slumps her shoulders, head shaking. “I forgave you for that.”  
  
Catra smiles softly at her, eyes shining with pain. “Did you? Cause I haven’t forgiven myself, Glimmer.” She watches for a few moments as Glimmer struggles to reply to that, her quick wit when it comes to their conversations failing her.  
  
The feline turns to the other princess and shrugs. “Where do we go from here?”  
  
Entrapta points at the 3D map on the table with her pigtails.  
  
“To Dryl!”  
  
x -x -x -x- x -x -x -x -x -x -x -x -x -x -x -x -x- x -x -x  
  
  
After raiding the kitchen fridge of water and whatever snacks they could find, Adora and Bow are laying side by side on the floor in Glimmer’s room.  
  
They had been hoping to find the Queen in here after their long trek back from the Crimson Waste but no one was here. They’re a little disappointed, as they’re actually kind of tired and the cool floor is providing them with relief after spending two weeks in the desert.  
  
Bow turns his head slightly towards Adora. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird?”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“Usually after a mission, Catra will find you immediately after stepping foot inside the castle and Glimmer will teleport in right after her. It’s been an hour already, and neither of them are here.”  
  
Adora shrugs. “Maybe they’re in an important meeting?”  
  
Despite how nonchalant she says this, Adora feels a cold, dreadful feeling drop inside her stomach. She has tried not to think too much about how it’s kind of a ritual now that whenever anyone of them comes back from a mission, the rest of the Squad is usually waiting on them to return or pounces on them the moment they arrive.  
  
But Bow’s right. It’s been an hour.  
  
And there’s no sign of either of their significant others.  
  
So, after another half hour of laying there in the cold, they decide to take matters into their own hands.  
  
They check Adora’s room next, finding nothing.  
  
They check the gardens, hoping Catra is taking a nap. Nope.  
  
Throne room’s next. Empty.  
  
Catra and Glimmer have bonded over reading about management of kingdoms – this shocked everyone – so they go to the library next. No fiancées in sight so they leave.  
  
They stumble into Micah, who frowns at them and silently gestures to the war council room before disappearing into the library.  
  
This confuses them, as Micah is usually so full of life that he’s practically bouncing off the walls.  
  
This worries them.  
  
In the war council room, they find Glimmer, head in hands, elbows on table as she looks at something in front of her. Melog is curled around her feet, eyes downcast. Bow and Adora exchange a worried glance as they walk over.  
  
Bow reaches out to place a hand on the Queen’s shoulder.  
  
“Hey, love, there you are.”  
  
Glimmer startles, straightening up and turning wide eyes onto them. Her eyes are red, cheeks puffy and lower lip is trembling slightly. “Bow…” She launches herself into Bow’s arms, squeezing him tightly and a sob escaping her throat.  
  
Adora shares a terrified look with Bow as the Queen crumbles right in front of them.  
  
“Glimmer, what’s wrong?” Bow asks softly as the three of them slump onto the floor, sobs shaking Glimmer’s shoulders.  
  
Melog stands from where they’d been resting and trots over to Adora, curling around her shoulders and leaning their head onto hers heavily. They whine, low and long, a sorrowful sound that makes the ball of dread in Adora’s stomach get bigger.  
  
The space cat reflects Catra’s feelings, and the dark purple mane of magic isn’t settling Adora’s nerves. Because this means either Catra is in anguish or – she really didn’t want to think about the other possibility.  
  
“Melog, what’re you doing here? Where’s Catra?”  
  
They whine again and grunt as they lean against her more heavily. Despite this, Adora is able to catch the hitch of breath from Glimmer and how her sobs subside almost immediately.  
  
Bow looks at the blonde, lost expression on his face as he cradles his girlfriend. Adora shifts so Melog is in between her legs and she can run her hands through their silky mane.  
  
“Glimmer? What’s going on? Where’s Catra?”  
  
Glimmer rests her forehead against Bow’s sternum for a moment then she meets Adora’s eyes.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Adora. I didn’t think this would happen.”  
  
Adora’s heart stopped for a moment, hands trembling. Melog pushes their snout into her cheek in comfort but she pays no attention to that.  
  
“W-What?”  
  
Glimmer shuts her eyes, burrowing into Bow’s chest once more.  
  
Adora shakes her head softly, shifting onto her knees and scooting closer to the pair. “What happened? What’s going on, Glimmer? _Where’s Catra_?”  
  
Melog walks over to Glimmer, pressing their side onto her back and whining again. Glimmer feels the guilt pressing against her heart again, remembering the last conversation exchanged before the portal closed.  
  
 _“Melog, you have to stay behind and take care of Glimmer and her kitten, okay?.... I know, buddy, I’ll be alright. Look after them. Adora and Bow as well.”  
  
“Catra, you don’t have to do this.”  
  
“I’m not letting you or Bow or Adora do this, Glimmer. It’s my fault she’s in there, it’s my responsibility to bring her back. If someone deserves to have both of her parents come back from the dead, it’s you.”  
  
“…. Take care of her, Horde Scum.”  
  
“That's the plan, Sparkles.”_  
  
Glimmer sobs, “She’s gone. She’s gone and it’s my fault!”  
  
Bow blinks in surprise, tightening his grip on her. “Wait, what do you mean it’s your fault? Where did she go?”  
  
Adora reaches out and grabs Glimmer’s wrist in desperation, her grip tight. “Gone? What do you mean she’s gone?”  
  
Glimmer twists her wrist to grab onto Adora as well and meets her eyes again. “She went through a portal to get my mom back.”  
  
 _What!_  
  
The blonde almost stumbles back in shock and fear but Glimmer’s grip around her wrist holds her close. “A portal? Wha – How? When?”  
  
“Entrapta and Hordak made it, at my request. Adora…” Glimmer’s face crumbles again, tears spilling down her cheeks.  
  
Adora shakes her head slightly, eyes begging Glimmer to tell her it’s all a joke. It’s a prank. Catra was always good at those. And with Glimmer’s help, they’re be able to pull off a master prank.  
  
Because there’s no way Catra’s gone.  
  
Catra cannot be gone because Catra is Adora’s whole world.  
  
And if Catra is gone….  
  
“She’s been gone for ten days now.”  
  
…then her whole world shatters.

**Author's Note:**

> There's more coming, I promise! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
